Forget cheese cloth for straining yogurt…

Date: June 9, 2022
Author: Bobbi Holmes
Categories: Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes
Comments: 2 Replies
Yogurt so thick it sticks to the spoon when held upside down.
Where the whey collects.

Consider this a public service post for those out there planning to make homemade yogurt and intend to strain it to make Greek Yogurt.

If you Google straining yogurt, you’ll likely find a variety of blog posts telling you how to strain yogurt using cheese cloth. Or if you don’t have cheese cloth, using something like a colander. I have just one word for those methods, YUCK.

If you want more words, let me add messy and inconvenient.

I started making homemade yogurt over two years ago, and it has become one of my favorite things. I’ve probably already posted on it. I started out using my bread proofer, but then switched to the Instant Pot, because it is just so much easier.

After making the yogurt and chilling if for a few hours I like to strain it—and no, I don’t use cheese cloth, nor a regular colander.  Remember, I just said I switched to the Instant Pot for making yogurt because it was so much easier—and for the same reason I use the gadget in the photo above. 

It’s the Euro Cuisine Greek 2-Quart Yogurt Maker that I bought at Wayfair. It currently cost just under $42, but they have another one—same brand—that goes for around $25. Not sure what the difference is between the two. But I bought the more expensive one about 2 ½ years ago and love it. 

Why buy this when cheese cloth is cheaper, and you might already have a colander? It’s easier and neater.

After my yogurt chills I fill the gadget with my yogurt, put the cover on it, and set it in the refrigerator. It serves as a strainer and yogurt carton.  The whey goes to the bottom. The longer you leave it sit, the thicker it becomes. As you can see by the picture of the upside-down spoonful of homemade yogurt, it is pretty think.  That spoonful in the picture tasted a little like cream cheese. I’ve also used it in recipes that calls for cream cheese.

But that is too thick, you say. Simply scoop your yogurt into a serving bowl, stir in a spoonful of whey or two, until you reach your ideal consistency.

The problem with the cheesecloth or colander option, you can’t just forget about the yogurt when it’s straining through cheese cloth—not to mention the clean-up, mess, and needing to transfer it to another container.  

Yet, sometimes I transfer my strained yogurt and whey to glass jars, so I can add the rest of the yogurt to the strainer. Or, sometimes I simply wait until I’ve eaten what was in the strainer, until I add more.

So, if you decide homemade yogurt is for you—and you want to strain it to make Greek yogurt or cheese, then I recommend a gadget like this one. I believe it is well worth the money.

You’re welcome. 

My thoughts on Pride Month…

Date: June 5, 2022
Author: Bobbi Holmes
Categories: Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes
Comments: 2 Replies

I never considered myself a prude. But perhaps I am when it comes to sexualizing children. It’s currently a hot topic, and I suspect when people say “sexualizing children” they don’t always mean the same thing.  It seems these days, we all speak a different language.  

I’ll be 68 this year. My mother raised me to believe sex and love went together. Sex was not something to be ashamed of, yet Mother typically discussed sex and marriage together. She often spoke of her own parents, who adored each other, and often cuddled on the sofa in their living room. I never met my grandfather, he died when Mom was a little girl. But the memory of her parents snuggling and smooching on the sofa is one that stayed with Mom.

While my Haunting Danielle books are G-rated, the books under my Anna J. McIntyre aren’t. And for a while I dabbled in writing erotica, which I found fun and more a writing exercise. For the last seven years I’ve focused primarily on my Haunting Danielle series.

And while I have no problem with erotica or R rated work—I don’t believe it’s for children nor do I ever feel comfortable featuring children or minors in erotica scenes—even if it is a fantasy scene where the character is an adult play acting. I find that creepy. And in some cases, illegal.

I also cringe when a woman calls her lover “Daddy.” Maybe I am a prude, but it makes my skin crawl.

I remember once, when I was babysitting my young niece, she wanted to play dress up. I brought out some makeup—and then froze. I could not bring myself to put makeup on that innocent face. Even in play. I ended up applying a little blush to her cheeks, but that was about all.

I imagine I will be offending some people when I say—I am also uncomfortable with little girl beauty pageants.  I don’t like the idea of all the makeup, adult poses, and parading the young girls on stage, as if appearance is her primary attribute. Maybe it is the Feminist in me, but I suspect it is also the Mama Bear.  

To be honest, I’m not a fan of any beauty pageant. Yet, you won’t see me protesting pageants. While I have the right to find them distasteful, those who wish to enter pageants have the right to do so. We don’t have to all like the same thing. 

This month is Pride Month, which I support. I believe we all have the right to love who we want. 

Over on Twitter, someone who did not support Pride month shared a photo with me showing a little girl holding a rainbow flag, while looking at two scantily clad men dressed in BDSM attire, kneeling before her. The person wanted to know my thoughts on the photo. If I supported Pride Month, I must also support what was happening in that photo. Right? No.

My thoughts on the photo? Right up there with the little girl beauty pageants. Inappropriate and unnecessary. 

I see nothing wrong with my young grandchildren learning that little Billy has two moms, or that Suzie has two dads, just as little Andy has a mom and dad. But I don’t want my young grandchildren shown graphic photos of what any of their parents do in private. 

While I believe in sex education, I see it as something that comes in age-appropriate stages. And in my opinion, it is appropriate for a kindergartener to learn parents sometimes come in a matching set.

Gun Control, is it Unconstitutional?

Date: May 28, 2022
Author: Bobbi Holmes
Categories: Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes
Comments: 2 Replies

More than half of our country wants more comprehensive gun control. For the people out there who like their guns, this doesn’t mean the majority wants to take away everyone’s guns, despite what the NRA keeps telling you. In fact, many of those people are gun owners. But the NRA loves saying that, because people who believe them run out and buy more guns. It’s great for the gun manufacturers’ bottom line.  

It’s possible those children and teachers in Uvalde might still be alive today if there were background checks, waiting periods, and a higher age limit. 

About now some of you might be saying, “If someone wants to get a gun, then they’ll find some way to do it.”

True. But why do you want to make it easier on them? While it won’t prevent all shootings, it will prevent some. And if we save even one life, isn’t it worth it?

I suppose about now some of you say it is YOUR right to buy a gun—any gun—whenever you want, because that’s what the 2nd Amendment says!

But does it really?

The 1st Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” means (according to the Supreme Court) that it protects all types of speech and press, even pornography. BUT the court ruled that there are two types of pornography it does not protect, obscenity and child pornography.

So, even though the Constitution never expressly excluded “obscenity and child pornography” when adding the 1st Amendment, the Supreme Court limited free speech.

In my opinion, obscenity is rather vague, but I totally agree with the child pornography ruling, because it is our duty to protect children. Of course, this does not mean child porn laws stops all child porn.

And now, to the 2nd Amendment. Why can’t we regulate guns like we do speech, to protect children? Both guns and speech/press are protected under the constitution. Why should guns be exempt when it comes to protecting children, but speech/press isn’t?

According to what I’ve read, 98% of mass shootings are committed by men—young men, typically under 33, often 18 or younger. Why make it so easy for an 18-year-old male to buy a firearm like the one used in Uvalde? 

There is an old saying about not reinventing the wheel. If we want to find a solution to this problem, why aren’t we studying what other countries are doing? Why is it just our country that seems to have this problem?

And I don’t believe this is a state issue—it should be a federal issue. It’s useless to have background checks, waiting limits or age requirements in one state, when all someone has to do is cross the border into another state and buy a weapon.

Congress needs to at the very least open a discussion. But as long as the NRA continues to buy Senators, they will keep avoiding examining real solutions, and continue to focus primarily on more good guys with guns.  But we all saw how that worked out in Uvalde.